B.C. teen faces online predator charges

A teenager from Trail, B.C., will appear in court this month accused of sexually luring and threatening other youth online.

Mounties are warning even more charges could be laid if investigators track down “the large number of potential victims” believed to have been targeted on social media websites.

Cpl. Dave Johnson told the CBC there could be upwards of 80 potential victims — including both young boys and girls — who were chosen because they live in the Kootenay-Boundary area.

The teen suspect was arrested on Nov. 18, four days after police received reports of a person using physical threats to persuade young boys to befriend him on Facebook. The youths were then allegedly asked to remove their clothes on webcam.

The teen has been charged with uttering threats, two counts of luring a child, two counts of extortion and two counts of invitation to sexual touching.

The suspect has since been released, with a first court appearance set for early this month.

Under conditions of his release, the suspect is prohibited from possessing digital devices, may only access the Internet under supervision of an adult, and cannot be in contact with any person under the age of 16 unless an adult is present.

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